The Bell
Gordon Introduces Winter Term Offerings
Christmas came early for Gordon students with the announcement that winter break would extend well over a month. For many, a long vacation begins with lofty ambitions like working through an entire cookbook or finally learning to play that guitar in the closet, only for plans to fizzle out into afternoon naps and unfinished books. But this year, Gordon students can make a dependable plan for utilizing break well thanks to the new opportunity of Winter Term courses, running from December 7 to January 16.
Last year Gordon became a founding member of CampusEDU, a digital learning platform that is offering Winter Term classes, alongside partner Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU) schools Indiana Wesleyan University, Lipscomb University and Abilene Christian University. Furthering Gordon’s commitment to offer a more adaptable education, students can choose from 17 online, asynchronous courses—eight from Gordon, nine from partner schools—to earn credits during break at a 58 percent discount (when compared to the cost of courses during a typical 16-credit semester) and at their own pace.
“The partnership with CampusEDU is an incredible opportunity for Gordon,” says Vice President for Academic Initiatives Jewerl Maxwell. “As one of the four founding institutions in this innovative online platform, this will allow Gordon to be one of the leaders in digital learning within the CCCU.”
Three of the classes Gordon is offering during Winter Term are available to all partner schools through CampusEDU:
- Science and Faith in Conversation (NSM 250) with Dr. Dorothy Boorse
Explores topics of the Christian faith as they relate to the nature and process of science with topical examples. Modules include the nature of science and its relation to religious belief, care of creation, novel technologies and creation origins. - American National Politics (POL 104) with Dr. Timothy Sherratt
Critically examines basic commitments, institutions and processes of American politics; engages contemporary political debate; focuses on Constitution, political culture, interest groups, parties, Congress, presidency and Supreme Court. - Western Musical Masterworks (MUS 241) with Dr. Mary Montgomery Koppel
Surveys great musical masterworks, their composers, historical development, musical form and style; listening skills, music vocabulary, recognition of historical style traits.
The plan to launch the CampusEDU partnership originally called for each institution to work on developing courses throughout the 2020–21 academic year and then to launch 10 courses in fall 2021. CCCU institutions who had not yet invested in digital learning were suddenly forced to find and offer online courses in response to COVID-19 and the transition to remote learning, so the timeline for CampusEDU was expedited.
“I am extremely excited about Winter Term and thankful for the faculty who put these courses together on such short notice,” says Maxwell. “Our students have been increasingly attracted to our Summer Term offerings because of the affordability and flexibility, and in this year of COVID-19 and the long break between semesters, it will be great to provide students with a way to continue their studies in an affordable and flexible manner.”